Somalia: Farmaajo in Addis Ababa for Abiy Ahmed's inauguration
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Staff reporter GAROWE ONLINE
- Posted On 04-10-2021, 08:11AM
ADDIS ABABA - Embattled Somalia's outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo on Sunday landed in Addis Ababa, where he's attending the inauguration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose stint in power has equally been troubling.
Abdirashid Hashi, the spokesperson of Villa Somalia confirmed Farmaajo's departure from Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, adding that Farmaajo will attend the inaugural event in person.
"President Farmajo has departed Mogadishu for Addis Ababa today to participate in the inauguration ceremony to form the new Ethiopian government. During the visit, the President will participate in the inauguration ceremony and meet with H.E. PM Abiy Ahmed," reads the tweet.
Abiy Ahmed's Prosperity Party won with a landslide in an election that was held recently. However, the Tigray region boycotted the election due to endless conflict with the federal government which has left thousands of people dead.
The Somali leader, whose term expired in February this year, will join a host of foreign leaders among them Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari - who arrived on Sunday. Abiy Ahmed, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner, become PM in 2018.
Ethiopia was first supposed to hold elections in August 2020 but the National Elections Board of Ethiopia [NEBE] postponed them due to the Covid-19 menace. This ideally triggered a conflict between Ethiopia and Tigray state when held elections.
In June, the ruling Prosperity Party scooped 410 seats out of a possible 419 in an election that was boycotted by the Tigray region. The conflict in Tigray has literally eroded gains made by Abiy Ahmed, with the International Community turning pressure on him.
Abiy Ahmed has been a close ally of Farmaajo and Eritrea leader Isaias Afwerki. The three leaders formed The Tripartite Agreement in September 2018 to strengthen economic and security ties in the Horn of Africa.
In recent weeks, both Afwerki and Ahmed have come under intense international criticism for atrocities in the Tigray region. Eritrea troops are said to have crossed over to Ethiopia where they engaged Tigray conflict, killing hundreds of people.
Also, Somali troops training in Eritrea are said to have crossed over to Tigray according to United Nations Special Rapporteur. The report indicated that the soldiers engaged in massacres that were recorded in Axum, a holy city in the Tigray region.
The Mogadishu administration had initially denied claims of soldiers training in Eritrea, but the government later admitted to such an incident. Ethiopia is a major security partner of Somalia having deployed over 4,000 troops working with AMISOM.
GAROWE ONLINE
